Cure Kids ambassador gets Christmas surprise

The charity Cure Kids raises funds to research cures for serious health conditions and their ambassadors are the children who live with these conditions and share their stories to raise awareness.

Today, the family of one of those ambassadors, nine-year-old Jax Wooley, was given a Christmas surprise as a way of saying thanks for his efforts.

Chris Robbins has been delivering magic at Christmas for five years, and at his North Shore home there's now plenty of Christmas spirit to go around.

"It's just an amazing end to what's been not such a great year," says Tash Vruink.

Mr Robbins volunteers for Kids in the Community, who works with charities like Cure Kids to give families a boost over Christmas.

"As Kiwis we're giving. It's a good old number-eight wire mentality – look after those that look after you," says Mr Robbins.

Ms Vruink has three kids younger than 10, including her son, Jax, who has Autism, Dyspraxia and ADHD. She's a single mum and was preparing the kids for a low-key Christmas.

"Financially we weren't really going to be doing much. This has just allowed us to have an absolutely amazing Christmas and to spoil the kids, which is something I would've not been able to do otherwise," she says.

The small gesture of generosity means a lot to Ms Vruink.

After a challenging year, this surprise has added a real twinkle to their Christmas.